Sega Dreamcast 2000
This is often touted as one of the most expensive games ever produced, which it was, and a commercial failure, which it was. However it was also a huge innovation in gaming and a longstanding personal favorite. I didn't get a chance to play this game when it first came out since I didn't have access to a Dreamcast.
The basic premise around Shenmue is that your father has been murdered and you are hunting down his killer. The thing is that since it's only part one you never actually get the revenge or even the whole story. You take over as Ryo Hazuki the day after his father is murdered in the family dojo. You begin a quest to find information about the killer and attempt to follow him. The door is thrown open as soon as you start and the whole town of Yokozuka is free for exploration. The people around town all have bits of knowledge that you must pry from them by questioning them and mentioning specific phrases. Slowly Ryo learns the name of the assailant and picks up on his trail. Over the course of weeks Ryo slowly manages to figure out what he needs to do and locates an artifact in his house that his fathers murderer sought. At the end of the game he heads to board a ship to Hong Kong and has to fight through 100 assailants in order to get there. I may have some of the details mixed up, but that's the gist of the game. A quest to learn enough to get started on the path of vengeance.
The features of the game were hugely innovative for the time and were a major draw. The whole town of Yokosuka is free to roam and the best part is the residents. These aren't just random faces like in your modern sandbox game such as GTA, the people of Yokosuka have personalities and schedules. Each day the people in the town would go about their lives without your influence. It created a sense that you were exploring a living place rather than an "instance" that pops up as you move into an area. At the time it was unheard of, and even these days its not common to see. The world was not at Ryo's whims, he had to play by the rules.
The combat was average but built around a solid system. The method of training your martial arts moves was a bit annoying. In order to "level up" your attacks you had to continually use that particular move. There were not many fights in the game which sort of made this hard to accomplish. The only other way to do it was to open up a free training session and repeat them over and over. I remember sitting in a parking lot in Dobuita Street throwing the same kicking move for like an hour just to make it powerful. It was part of the monotony that may have been the weakest part of the game, but at the same time was very realistic. Shenmue reinforced the idea of practice and training into a martial arts game. This forced you to treat your character as if he were a true martial artist.
I have to give a brief mention to the QTE or quick time events. Shenmue was the first game I can remember using this sort of gameplay. These were automated events that only required a proper press of the correct button on time. If you miss the button or press the wrong one you fail that portion. This has gone on to be used in such games as the God of War series, Resident Evil 4, and The Force Unleashed. I've always thought these added an extra bit of suspense to the games. A good diversion from the main game.
I ended up playing this game in about 2004-2005 after it had been out a few years. My brother had a Dreamcast that he hadn't touched in years and I decided the time was right for me to play this game that I had heard so much about for so long. After popping the game in and giving it a whirl for a few hours I was hooked. I spent the next two weeks exploring every inch of Yokosuka, living through the game and exposing myself to more Japanese "life". The mystery was fun, but the city was so alive. That was what really kept me playing. The sidequests, if you could call them that, were just as amusing. The little slice of life stuff that was thrown in to add character to the city. The stray cat, helping somebody find a house, interacting with Ryo's group of friends, talking to his fathers apprentice, collecting capsule toys and so on were just some of the events and interactions that made me love this game. I even spent hours trying to get Ryo's relationship with Nanami just right. She loved him damnit, the thickheaded clod! Sadly I lost the hookups for the Dreamcast and haven't had a chance to play this game in years. I tried to play it on my PC, but that didn't work out so well. I loved this damn game.
Rating - Then
In 2000 I wouldn't have had a chance to play it so I'm basing this on my first playing of the game. Had I the chance to play it when it first came out I would have been able to rate it higher. I acknowledge that this was a great game but I had also played the GTA3 trilogy and other recent games, so the impact this would have made was weakened. Compared to what else was available in 2000 this game was amazing, but based on what was available in 2005 it was just good. That didn't stop me from loving every second of my experience.
Score - 8.5
Rating - Now
I haven't played it in quite a few years and have gone on to play the inferior Shenmue 2 since then. I recognize the influence of this game in titles that are coming out to this day. Though it seems unlikely a third game will ever be made, stranger things have happened. Until that possibility this game will stand as the shining example of it's genre. It was great for the era that it came from and still has a lot of value. Still love it to this day and look forward to getting a chance at playing it again in the future.
Score - 8.5
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